


Flavoring the soup

by marginaliana



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-24 21:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17108249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marginaliana/pseuds/marginaliana
Summary: Three things Sam put into the soup at the luau (and one thing someone else put in)





	Flavoring the soup

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Steve](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steve/gifts).



"I can't believe you told the farmer about the anchovies in the soup.”

Sam was kicking sand repetitively with the toe of his shoe, back and forth and back again, just as he usually did when idly rolling his skateboard. It made a deeply irritating sound; Sebastian kicked at him, but Sam was too familiar with that move to let him get away with it and just swung his foot out of the way, showering Sebastian’s shoes with sand as he did it. " _Why_?" he continued.

Sebastian shrugged. "He looked bored. I was _very_ bored."

"Abigail hanging out on the pier again? Looking dreamily and romantically out at the ocean?" Sam had an evil grin on his face.

"Shut up," said Sebastian, but it came out with no real heat in it.

"Sure, sure." After a moment, though, Sam relented. "What did the farmer say?"

"He laughed. Then he asked about how you got the anchovies. _Then_ he asked about what else got you on the community service list. And, well…"

> _Year minus 3_
> 
> "Mom let Vince pick our contribution to the soup this year," Sam announced, appearing suddenly at the lakeside from behind a bush. Sebastian, who had been leaning back against Abigail's favorite tree while she practiced drumming, startled violently and banged the back of his head hard against the trunk. 
> 
> "Ow!"
> 
> Sam laughed. "Seb—"
> 
> "You jerk!"
> 
> Abigail was laughing too. "Your face!" she gasped.
> 
> "Hilarious," Sebastian said. He attempted to regain a bit of dignity. "What did Vince pick?"
> 
> Sam managed to stop laughing. "Anchovies."
> 
> "That's not so bad," Sebastian said. "Why are you telling us this?"
> 
> "What if everyone else chose anchovies, too?"
> 
> "They're not going to," said Abigail. 
> 
> "But what if they did? It would be a pretty strong flavor, right?"
> 
> Abigail opened her mouth stubbornly and Sebastian jumped in before things could devolve into a childish argument. His head was still throbbing.
> 
> "How are you going to make it happen?" he asked. "Burgle everyone and replace all their food with anchovies? I should warn you, I'm pretty sure that Maru's put some sort of laser death trap on our fridge."
> 
> "How would that even—" Abigail started, then cut herself off. "Never mind, I don't want to know."
> 
> "I was thinking I'd just make a couple of trips to put them in myself. Marnie doesn't usually pay that much attention." Sam shrugged as if to indicate that he knew it wasn't much of a plan, but then again, he wasn't wrong about Marnie. She was always a bit distracted at festivals.
> 
> "More to the point, where are you going to get all the anchovies?" Sebastian asked.
> 
> "Abigail's going to get them for me from the shop."
> 
> "And why am I going to do that?" Abigail asked.
> 
> "Seb will get you an amethyst from the mine."
> 
> Sebastian – who had no intention of climbing down into any dark hole other than his bedroom – opened his mouth to protest and then caught sight of Abigail's face. "Of course I will," he said. "Even without the anchovies."
> 
> "Don't give up my leverage, man," Sam said.
> 
> "Should have thought of that before you volunteered me," said Sebastian. "But seriously, I will get one. You can come with me, if you want. I bet you'd be even better at finding gems than I would."
> 
> Abigail beamed at him for that. "Maybe I will," she said. "Don't tell dad, but I've got a sword, so I think we'd be safe enough. And I really do want an amethyst for the top of my drum. It'll look pretty cool, I think."
> 
> "It will match your hair, so yeah, pretty cool," Sebastian said, and then flushed. "I mean, for our image."
> 
> "Yeah," said Sam. "Right. For our image."
> 
> -
> 
> _Year minus 2_
> 
> "What is it this year?"
> 
> Sam brought a small bag out of his back pocket. Inside there was a red, glowing powder. "Ground fire crystal."
> 
> Sebastian must have looked as alarmed as he felt, because Sam laughed. 
> 
> "Relax," he said. "It's not poisonous or anything. I checked with Harvey."
> 
> "You checked. With. Harvey." Sebastian knew that his raised eyebrow would say everything that needed to be said.
> 
> "And the library. And Demetrius."
> 
> That was one of the things Sebastian liked most about Sam: that he called Sebastian's stepfather 'Demetrius.' After the first time – "He is _not_ my dad." – Sam hadn't made that mistake a second time. Then again, he had father problems of his own.
> 
> "Oh, well, if you asked _Demetrius_ ," said Sebastian, but it was half-hearted. Whatever else Demetrius might be, he was a man who knew his stuff. "So what will it do, if not send the governor into an early grave?"
> 
> "Just spice things up a bit. Or a lot." Sam grinned. "All I'm saying is that you probably shouldn't have any. Unless you want to impersonate a fire slime."
> 
> -
> 
> _Year minus 1_
> 
> "Does the pot seem like it's… bubbling… more than usual?" Abigail asked.
> 
> Sebastian squinted at it. "A little," he said, and then startled when the surface of the liquid let out a tremendous belch. "Or a lot."
> 
> "Maybe the eels aren't getting along," said Sam, watching the pot.
> 
> "Eels?" said Abigail.
> 
> "Eels?" said Sebastian.
> 
> "Mmhmm," said Sam absently. "They were nice and quiet before…"
> 
> Abigail took a step sideways. "I'm going to go and see if Evelyn and George need anything."
> 
> Sebastian took a step too. "You know what? I think I'll help you."

He'd just about finished telling Sam a few of the details when Abigail sidled up to his shoulder; he could tell it was her, just by the sound of her footsteps on the dock. "Is it ruin-the-soup time again?" she asked. Sebastian turned to enjoy the impish expression that always came with that tone of voice. "I thought you'd been banned, Sam," she continued.

"Not me this year," said Sam. "But Seb thinks that the farmer might be taking up the mantle."

"I'm not sure," Sebastian admitted. "But I was telling him all about the past, and he got this look on his face. And then he went and put something in. It was purple, _really_ purple. Maybe it was just an eggplant. But it seemed a bit… spangly."

"What else could it be, if it wasn't eggplant?" said Abigail. 

"I think we're about to find out," said Sam.

-

Suspicion naturally fell on Sam, but no one _really_ thought that he would have gone far enough to steal Mayor Lewis' underwear and put it in the soup. Still, they had to punish someone, and since Sam refused to rat out the farmer he took the blame in the end, along with the community service hours. 

When they saw the farmer next, on Friday night at the saloon, he slipped each of them a gift and said, very quietly, that he was looking forward to the festival next year.


End file.
